Wexford treble on good racing card at Bettyville

THERE WAS some very good racing at Bettyville on Friday evening, with Wexford connections involved with three of the winners.

The meeting threw up a host of incidents and talking points, including a win in the feature for a horse whose last success was a Grade 1 at the Aintree Grand National meeting of 2019, and another for an American lady trainer, but there were no punters due to Covid-19 regulations.

Mt Leinster Gold got the day off to a high note for his owner, Irish tenor Anthony Kearns, trainer Colin Bowe and rider Barry O’Neill (who had been riding in Aintree 24 hours earlier). He was friendless in the market for the opening Brendan Cullimore Electrical novice hurdle over three miles, drifting from 5/2 in the morning right out to 15/2.

However, the horse didn’t know the punters didn’t fancy his chances and O’Neill brought him through down the hill and took it up entering the straight, asserted before the last fence and kept going well to hold on by three parts of a length from Rocky’s Howya (7/1).

Mt Leinster has now run up a sequence of five wins, three in point-to-point under

O’Neill and this was his second from two on the track. He had a winning debut in a two-mile Fairyhouse maiden hurdle on February 21, under Jordan Gainford. He was upped to three miles on Friday and came good again, though the gap was closing at the end.

O’Neill, Irish champion point-to-point rider for the past four seasons, said: ‘She had a great grounding in her four pointto-point outings and she’s progressing away. She jumped great and has done it nicely. Whatever she does over hurdles, fences will be her game.’

Paul Nolan seldom leaves Wexford without a winner and Friday was no exception, at an unusually generous 10/1. His Fortune Street took the two and a half mile M&T Plant Hire maiden hurdle by a length and a half, ridden by Borris man, Richie Deegan. He moved into second down the hill and took it up at the second last and kept on well to the line.

J.J. Slevin was second on Peter Fahey’s Lucky Tenner (4/1), five lengths ahead of the well-backed Gladiatorial (5/1 from 25s in the morning), ridden by Jody McGarvey, fresh from his Grade 1 double at Fairyhouse on Monday.

Fortune Street had won his bumper at Wexford in October 2019 under Barry O’Neill at the fifth attempt and had gone eight runs without a win since, though he was in contention with two seconds and two thirds.

Paul’s brother and assistant, James, said: ‘He deserved that and likes it here. I thought Richie was excellent on him, kept things very simple and I thought that was his best jumping performance. Richie is a good hard-working lad who has come back from a horrible leg injury and it’s great to see him doing well.’

Paul was away in Liverpool tending to Discorama prior to his run in the Aintree Grand National on Saturday.

Seán Flanagan was the third Wexford winner in the Good Enuf To Eat Banqueting handicap hurdle on first reserve, Getaway Queen (4/1 from 11/2), for trainer David Budds from Tallow in Waterford.

It was a nicely-timed run by Flanagan who was only fifth entering the straight but took it up over the last when there were four in a line and was two and a half lengths clear of Andrew McNamara’s Just Another Lady (2/1f) at the end.

The feature of the day was the €21,000

Garryrichard Stud handicap chase for older horses, and here Paul Nolan and Seán O’Keeffe were just denied a surprise victory when eleven-year-old Fine Theatre (28/1) cut down a two-length deficit at the last but failed by a neck to catch Dylan Robinson on Henry De Bromhead’s Ornua (11/4f).

Ornua’s last previous win was in the Grade 1 Maghull Novice Chase at Aintree 2019 when ridden by Davy Russell just before he went out to win a second Grand National on Tiger Roll. He’d had 15 runs since then and was seldom out of the first three but could not get his head in front. It was a welcome win for Dylan Robinson too, his first since he broke his back in a fall last November.

American trainer Keri Brion has been trying her luck on the Irish scene for a few months, based with Ellen and James Doyle at their Baltimore Stable at Coolgarrow, Enniscorthy.

She returned home to Maryland on Sunday, bringing with her nine horses and some fond memories of Wexford as her final runner on this trip, The Mean Queen (4/5), justified her hot price to win the Slaney River mares’ maiden hurdle by a comfortable six and a half lengths under Kildare-based amateur, John O’Neill.

Ricky Doyle, who works for Wexford’s Conor O’Dwyer, was a shock winner of the Irish Grand National on Monday on 150/1 shot Freewheelin Dylan, trained by Dermot McLoughlin. Doyle had to avoid a loose horse to hold on for a short head win in the Traynors of Wexford Novice Chase on Champagne Beauty (4/1) for owner/trainer/breeder Pat Fitzgerald from Youghal.

Ironically, his victim this time, The Echo Boy (14/1), was trained by his Grand National partner, McLoughlin. Seán O’Keeffe was third on Seamus Neville’s (Bridgetown) Notice to Close (8/1), nearly three lengths back.

Shark Hanlon and jockey Jody McGarvey pulled off the fairytale success at Fairyhouse with Skyace, the now famous £600 horse, and they doubled up in the concluding Traynor’s of Wexford for Paint handicap chase with The Cool Dude (11/2). They were five and a half lengths clear of Enduring Love (11/1) for James O’Sullivan (Camolin) and Philip Rothwell.

The next meeting at Wexford is on Sunday, May 16.